Getting to Know You
by kvh502
Summary: An AU ROMY fic. Rogue and Remy are two normal people, with maybe a few special skills, who find themselves living in the same apartment block. Romance and adventure ensue. Mainly shameless ROMYness, but a bit of plot thrown in for effect!
1. Beginnings

A/N: OK this is my first attempt at a ROMY fic, and the first time I've written any kind of fanfic in years so bear with me. Please review and let me know what you think.

This is an AU fic with no mutants, just lots of lovely ROMY moments!

I will try to write with accents, but they will be minimal, and I prefer the power of imagination. I do speak some French, but I'm not fluent, so if there are any dodgy translations forgive me.

P.S. I'm British so any weird phrases, words, spellings etc. are probably down to that.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Rogue was terrified. She hadn't had a date in 6 years, and quite frankly she'd completely forgotten how the whole thing was supposed to work. When you've been in a relationship for so long, let alone been engaged, you conveniently forget about the angst of the dating world of singletons.

Then again it wasn't like her relationship with Joseph was without its fair share of angst. And at least when you're single people can't cheat on you…

"For God's sake Rogue would you leave your hair alone!" Betsy scolded.

Rogue was wrenched out of her thoughts by her British friend slapping her hands away from her artfully arranged auburn curls.

"Ah'm sorry. Ah'm just so darned nervous. Ah need something to keep ma hands preoccupied." Rogue replied in way of an apology.

"Well that shouldn't be a problem once you're with him…at least it wouldn't be if it was me in your shoes…" Kitty trailed off with a lusty sigh.

"I know. Honestly, just one look at that man and I'm fighting thoughts of licking his naked…"

OOMPH!

Rogue threw a pillow at Betsy before the woman could continue voicing her x-rated thoughts. She rolled her eyes at her friends. Trying to keep their minds out of the gutter was just like fighting nature; pointless. Though if she was being truthful Rogue had to admit she had a few of her own x-rated thoughts about this guy. She couldn't help it, he was the epitome of the phrase 'sex on legs'. Every time she saw him in the hall to their apartment block she had to stop herself from drooling over him. And there had been a few embarrassing moments where she had completely zoned out whilst ogling him and not been able to answer his questions. Fortunately with the help and encouragement of her two best friends she'd managed to pluck up the courage for a bit of harmless flirting, which had led her to become the current bundle of nerves pacing round her bedroom.

"Well if that's how you're going to thank me I'll take my fashion advice and wardrobe elsewhere," Betsy said in a tone of mock indignation.

"Fine. Ah'm sorry. But could we please keep the conversation to a more PG rating, ah'm flustered enough as it is?" Rogue bargained. She dreaded the thought of having to choose an outfit without Betsy's help. It took her long enough to get dressed for work in the morning.

"You're no fun!" Kitty sulked, poking her tongue out at Rogue in pretend petulance.

Rogue stuck her tongue out back at Kitty, and the two women proceeded to chase each other round the room, ending in a pillow fight.

Betsy sighed inwardly and clapped her hands loudly to be heard over the fits of giggles coming from the other two. Honestly it was like dealing with children sometimes.

"Girls, we do have a date to get ready for in case you've forgotten?" Betsy reminded the other with a questioning raise of her eyebrow. "Or would you rather I sent you out there in your underwear?"

"Well he'd definitely get the point that way…"

Rogue silenced Kitty with a final blow of the pillow.

"Ah'm sorry Betsy. Ah'll…we'll…behave." Rogue placated glaring pointedly at Kitty.

The three women proceeded to trail through the seemingly endless amount of clothes amassed between them. Fortunately they'd had the insight to give themselves the better part of the afternoon to get Rogue ready. They finally decided on a white strapless dress which cut off above the knee and accentuated Rogue's tanned skin and auburn hair. They matched chunky green jewellery to Rogue's eyes and added a pretty grey cardigan, embroidered with little flowers round the collar (just to keep out the cold evening air). The overall effect was the perfect blend of sexy and cutesy without going overboard on either one.

Kitty and Betsy left her with assurances of how great she looked, and the promise that she would phone them tomorrow and tell them everything that happened.

Rogue smiled at her reflection in the mirror. Getting dressed up had just about convinced her that she could breeze through the evening easily. Then there was a knock at the door. Suddenly all her previous anxiety welled up inside her and lodged inside her throat as she opened the door to find one devastatingly sexy Cajun leaning casually against the frame.

"Bon soir, chèrie."

o-o-o-o-o-o

She'd caught his attention as soon as he'd moved into the building. She had been climbing the stairs in front of him as he'd carried stuff up to his new apartment, oblivious to his presence, reading through her mail. Remy had stared openly at the pair of long, slender, tanned legs that emerged from a pair of rather small denim shorts and the glossy auburn curls that trailed down her back. He'd been so engrossed in watching the sway of her hips as she'd climbed the stairs that he failed to notice he'd reached the top until he stumbled over an imaginary step. The box he was carrying fell to the floor noisily and she jumped.

_Real smooth LeBeau, throwing yourself at her feet so soon._

"Are you alright?" the woman asked in a southern accent. She had turned round from her door and was staring at him with concerned green eyes.

_Mon Dieu, dis is one belle femme. Perhaps it be my lucky day after all._

"Mais oui. Just not paying attention to where I was going." He smiled warmly as he began picking things from the floor.

She knelt down to help him and smiled.

"Tell me 'bout it. Ah'm always falling down or tripping up those darned stairs."

She leant forward to place something in the box, and granted him a view of her ample cleavage.

_Definitely my lucky day._

Remy smiled seductively at her. "Well maybe I'll have de pleasure of catching you one day." He winked. "Seeing as we be neighbours and all."

She blushed furiously and let out a small giggle. Then looked as is she was admonishing herself internally.

He stood up and opened the door to his apartment.

"Be seeing you again soon, chére."

_Oh yes, he was definitely going to like living here._

o-o-o-o-o-o

Over the next month they'd slowly got to know each other better through chance meetings in the hall and such. She'd even invited him in for coffee on a few occasions. The more time Remy spent with her the more he liked her. She was beautiful, that went without saying, but she was funny and intelligent too. He could sense they shared the same wicked streak, though his was much closer to the surface than hers. But there was something reserved about her, like she wasn't being her full self, like a layer of protection.

At first she reacted to his ostentatious flirting with blushes and mumbles. But slowly she seemed to gain confidence and he'd see flashes of wickedness in those gleaming green eyes. She'd almost have him, Remy LeBeau, tongue-tied on occasions when she'd come out with some deliciously dirty double entendre, flick her hair over her shoulder and flash him a seductively suggestive smile.

After four weeks of torturous anticipation, Remy caved. He wanted the chance for this amicable flirting to move up a level. He wanted her to know that he wanted her. He wanted to tell her all the things he'd imagined doing to her alone in bed at night. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to tell her how he hadn't been able to look at another femme since he'd set eyes on her. He wanted a date.

And so Remy LeBeau found himself leaning on her door frame one autumn evening. He barely managed to keep from pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply when she opened her door, looking stunningly sexy. Definitely not proper first date etiquette. Instead he settled for a chaste kiss on the hand accompanied by a gallant bow.

"Bon soir, chérie."

She rolled her eyes at him and his affected sense of chivalry.

"C'mon swamp rat. Ah ain't got all night."

_Dieu give me strength…_


	2. Saturday Night's Date Night

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I've been looking for my own sexy, sleazy Cajun but they're a bit thin on the ground round my neck of the woods…shame.

Read, enjoy, review!

o-o-o-o-o-o

**Chapter 2: Saturday Night's Date Night**

"So what did you say you did again?" Rogue asked, making the obligatory small talk that inevitably starts off most dates.

"I'd guess it'd be best described as…property acquisition." Remy could hardly suppress his smirk.

_Ah guess that means property development or something. _

They were sitting in a cosy French restaurant that had managed to give each of its tables a nice amount of privacy. It was perfect for a date. Remy had of course been the one to choose it. Their table was small so their legs brushed up against one another whenever one of them moved. Neither of them minded.

Rogue was struggling to sustain any convincing attempt at conversation, all her energy was invested in taming her thoughts of the man across from her. Remy was dressed in very expensive looking black suit with a crisp white shirt. The restaurant was warm and he had removed his jacket. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone and he had rolled up the sleeves, exposing a length of tanned muscular forearm and a glimpse of toned chest. Rogue was feeling incredibly flushed and it wasn't from the heat of the restaurant. Everything about Remy was intoxicating. He drew you in with his smell, his smile, his eyes…oh those eyes. Rogue was about ready to accept she'd died and gone to heaven any time she looked into them.

Remy was not faring much better on the other side of the table, he just carried it off with more security. He was quite happy just to stare at this amazingly beautiful woman and not even attempt to converse. However, he was fully aware that this would probably be considered odd, and not to mention slightly creepy on the first date. Staring in adoration should usually be reserved for more developed relationships. But _Dieu_ if she wasn't making it hard for him. She sat there in that deceptively demure looking white dress that clung to all the right places. She had removed her cardigan and the soft lighting cast a golden hue across her skin. He wondered what it would be like to touch that skin, caress it with his hands, his mouth, his tongue...it looked so smooth and silky. He tried to concentrate on her face, but that didn't help. Her green eyes burned with intensity and her long thick lashes cast shadows onto her high cheekbones. Any time she spoke his eyes were glued to her mouth. Her lush, cherry-red lips were so inherently suggestive he could barely restrain himself from leaping over the table and taking her there and then on the floor.

Somehow between the two of them they continued a string of inane conversation, neither really caring what they were saying. Both were lost in the other. Neither of them knew what it was, but there was something intense simmering under the surface of their pretence of a conversation.

Remy pulled himself out of his reverie and asked a question that had been puzzling him for sometime. She had mentioned a long term relationship with someone having ended suddenly, not that long ago. He guessed this was the reason for her reservation when they first met.

"If you don' min' me askin' chère, what happened between you an' dis Joseph?"

She stared at him blankly for a few seconds, as if she didn't know who he was talking about.

"Oh," she said giving her head a small shake. "Well we were together for six years, and then we broke up…ah found him screwin' his assistant." She said it matter-of-factly. Strangely enough it didn't hurt her to say it anymore, sitting here across from Remy.

Remy leaned across the table, and holding her hand, looked straight into her eyes.

"Den de _homme_'s a fool chère. Any man worthy of you wouldn' even look at anot'er _femme_, let alone touch one." And with her it wasn't just another line, designed to get her into his bed. He was saying it to reassure her, to make her feel better, to tell her she deserved better than that, to tell her that he wouldn't treat her that way.

His eyes burned with a ferocious intensity, almost glowing a dull red in the light, as he gazed into her wide green orbs. He hadn't let go of her hand. Suddenly he felt her squeeze his hand with her own. She ran her thumb over the back of his hand and looked up into his eyes, her lids heavy with lust.

"Wanna get out a here, sugah?"

o-o-o-o-o-o

What was she doing? In the rare moments of clarity her brain was allowing her right now, this was the question she was asking herself. She was not the kind of girl to have sex on the first date. Yet here they were in his apartment going at each other like lust fuelled teenagers. But with Remy it felt like so much more than a first date, like he'd known her for years. It didn't take Remy long to drive all coherent thoughts from her head.

"Remy…" she moaned softly.

He was kissing a line down her neck and along her collarbone, as his hands caressed her bare shoulders. Her hands were tangled in his auburn hair. He smiled into her luxuriant skin as she moaned his name. He looked up to see her with her eyes closed and her head inclined back. He raised his head and ran his tongue softly over her full lips. She opened her eyes and they shared a brief moment of mutual desire before his mouth descended on hers.

Their kiss was hard and passionate as their tongues tangled together. When they broke for breath they were both panting hard with desire. She slid her hands from his face, down his neck to caress his chest. Slowly, almost painfully so, she began to undo each button, savouring the exposure each one granted. She ran her hands back up his smoothly muscled chest, pushing his shirt off his shoulders and down his arms.

He kissed her again, more tenderly this time, as she placed her palms on his chest. He found the zip at the back of her dress, and slowly pulled it down. He felt her smile against his mouth as her dress fell away and pooled around her feet. She stretched her arms up around his neck, pulling their bodies closer together.

He ran his hands down her back, feeling the silkiness of her skin beneath his fingers. He stopped at her waist, resting his hands on her hips. He couldn't help it. He had to see what she looked like. He pushed away gently, creating enough space between them for him to look over her body. She had full breasts which lead down into a small waist, curving gracefully out with her hips.

She smirked at him. "Take a picture if ya want. It'll last longer." She drawled.

"You know chère I might jus' take you up on dat offer _un jour."_

She squealed as he pulled her back to him. They resumed with reinvigorated passion, and there was soon a trail of clothing and underwear leading to the bed, on which they were now entangled.

Moans seemed to be coming from each of them alternately. It was as if their bodies were made for each other, each knowing exactly what to do to elicit cries of pleasure from the other. It wasn't long before Rogue was writhing in ecstasy, gasping Remy's name in the throes of passion. She was having much the same effect on Remy himself.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Much later Rogue lay curled up against Remy's chest, with his arms wrapped around her. She was idly tracing patterns on his tanned skin. He was slowly running his fingers up and down her spine.

"_Dieu_ _chère_ I t'ink we might have _un problème ici_." He murmered.

"What?" she looked up in slight alarm.

"Jus' don' t'ink I'm ever gonna be able to let you go after dat."

She smiled at him, "well Ah ain't gonna fight ya."

She leant in to give him a deep kiss.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Please review. I'd love to know what people think.


	3. Ravens and Rogues

**A/N:** Sorry this has taken so long, I was initially planning to update once a week but finishing university got in the way. But I am now free to concentrate my efforts on writing again, so hopefully the next update will be quicker.

Thank you all so much for your lovely reviews, I'm glad everyone's enjoying it.

This is going to be a short chapter. I'm still trying to work out the plot in my head so I don't want to write too much in one go in case I have to backtrack later. The next one should follow soon though.

o-o-o-o-o-o

**Chapter 3: Ravens and Rogues**

Remy whistled a jaunty tune as he strolled back to his apartment on the beautiful June day. His jacket was slung over his shoulder and he could feel the warmth of the sun beating against his back through his shirt. At that moment he felt like the happiest man in the world. It was the beginning of summer, and he was on his way home to his gorgeous girlfriend. Remy couldn't help but grin widely.

Remy and Rogue had been together since their first date eight months ago. After six months together they had bought the penthouse apartment in their block when it had come up for sale. The last two months had been the happiest of Remy's life. He could no longer imagine a life without Rogue, and he had no desire to. It was her birthday next week and he, Kitty and Betsy had planned a big surprise.

All Remy's happy thoughts vanished along with his smile as he approached the apartment door. Even from outside though the noise was muffled, he could tell Rogue was fighting with somebody. And he had a pretty good idea who that somebody was.

Tentatively Remy opened the door; he was just in time to catch the end of the argument.

"Don't you dare call me that!" Rogue hissed down the phone in a dangerously low voice. "You gave up any right you had ta that claim long ago. You're not ma mother. You're dead to me."

Rogue ended the call and threw the phone down on the sofa in anger and frustration. Still thinking she was alone, she dropped her head into her hands and let her tears fall silently, making her whole body shake. She stiffened when she felt strong arms encircle her before realising that it was only Remy. She turned round in his arms and buried her head into his chest letting her sobs overwhelm her.

"Raven?" Remy asked quietly.

Rogue nodded against him. "Ah hate her so much," she whispered.

Remy said nothing in return. He just continued to hold her, hoping to soothe the pain that wrecked her body.

He knew that Rogue had been adopted as a child by Raven Darkholme, and that as a teenager she had runaway to New York hoping to escape from her former life. She often talked about how happy she had been at Xavier's boarding school with Kitty and Betsy and her other friends, and all their antics. But she never talked about her life before New York. Remy had never pushed her to either, he understood her need to conceal and escape her past. He only hated this Raven woman for not allowing Rogue to forget it.

Instinctively he tightened his arms around her in his desire to protect her.

"I won't let her hurt you again Chère…not ever."

o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N:** Sorry not really any romance in this chapter, I just wanted to set a few things up plotwise, but fear not, a heavy helping of Rominess will be on its way soon.

As always R&R.


	4. A Trip Down Memory Lane

**A/N:** Ok a bit of a quicker update this time! Thanks for the reviews. I'm so glad you all like it.

Just a quick pointer: Raven and Irene have no connection in this story and Kurt isn't German (mainly just because I'm not good at writing accents, especially not German ones). Also there may be some continuity issues with Rogue's age, she's just turning 26 (Remy's 28) so please either forget or ignore anything I've said about age or time scales before!

o-o-o-o-o-o

**Chapter 4: A Trip Down Memory Lane**

The remainder of the day had passed between them in relative silence, but now, at night, in bed together, Rogue knew she needed to break that silence. She knew Remy would never ask her to tell him anything about her past, and she also knew that that was the reason she had to tell him; that she wanted to tell him.

Rogue stared at the back of the strong, silent figure lying next to her for a moment before lightly brushing her fingertips over his skin.

"Remy…sugah you awake?" she asked softly.

"Bien sûr chère," he replied turning over to face her. He gently ran a finger down the side of her face. "What's wrong?"

"Ah wanna tell ya 'bout everything that happened to me before ah came to New York…but ah need you ta promise you'll let me finish before you say anything."

"Je promets."

Rogue nodded acceptingly before getting out of bed and padding over to the closet. She rummaged around for a moment before removing a large book-shaped object. She made her way back into bed and nestled against Remy's now upright figure.

Rogue opened the book across her lap. Remy saw that it was a photo album. The only photos of Rogue he had ever seen were the few she had on display in the apartment, of her and the others from Xavier's. She'd said she was 17 in the oldest one. He had never seen her any younger.

Rogue was staring intently at the picture on the first page. It was a portrait of a woman and a young girl. It was clearly Rogue and her mother. They looked so alike; both had soft, auburn, curls and the same big, beautiful, green eyes.

Remy saw a tear drop onto the protective plastic covering of the page as Rogue ran her fingers over the photo. In a comforting gesture he placed his arm around her shoulders, but remained silent.

"That's ma Momma," Rogue said lovingly. "Her name was Irene. Ah loved her so much. She died when ah was 8. It just broke ma heart…"

Rogue turned the page of the album, revealing more happy family photos. There was a man in these ones that Remy presumed to be Rogue's father. The photos mainly captured candid shots of them laughing and playing; at the beach, at Christmas, on birthdays.

"It changed Dada too. He didn't know what to do without her; she'd been his whole life since they were kids. He couldn't even look at me anymore. Ah used to love it when people said ah looked so like ma Momma, but now ah hated it. All ah wanted was for ma Daddy to pick me up in his arms and tell me that it'd all be ok, and that he loved me…but he couldn't do it. That was the start of it all… Daddy started drinking…and when he was drunk he'd shout at me saying how much he hated me for looking so like her. Ah don't blame him…ya see ah was just a constant reminder of what he'd lost; he'd never be allowed to move on. So ah left."

Rogue breathed in deeply and wiped away the tears from her eyes.

"Ah stole some money and travelled as far away as ah could. Raven found me two weeks later, cold and frightened, sleeping in a station. She offered to take me home and feed, wash and clothe me. She seemed so nice and trustworthy that ah couldn't refuse. And ah didn't want to refuse; ah wanted someone to look after me again the way ma Momma had. Ah stayed with Raven after that night and ah was happy again. She took me in as her daughter, and ah loved her almost as much as ah'd loved ma real mother. Ah wasn't alone; Raven had adopted two other kids, both boys, Kurt and Victor. Ah loved both of them like brothers; we were one big happy family again. We moved around the country a lot, but us kids never minded. We always had each other at a new school. Kurt and ah are the same age and Victor was 2 years older, but that didn't matter."

Rogue had turned over several pages of photos of her and Kurt and Victor. Remy almost wanted to laugh; the three of them couldn't look any less related if they tried. But he could clearly see from the pictures how happy they were together. Oddly, there was only one photo of Raven. She was an attractive woman, in an austere way, with dark red hair cut into a sharp bob, and she was smiling a big smile in the photo. But there was something, Remy thought, about her eyes that he didn't like…something cold and merciless.

"All the time ah was with Raven she made us do activities. Kurt and ah both did gymnastics. He was a natural born acrobat; he should have been in the circus. Victor did boxing; he was a real savage fighter when he wanted to be. We all had martial arts and weapons training. At the time ah thought nothing of it…hell! There were kids down in Mississippi doing far stranger things. By the time ah was 14 ah could beat someone twice ma size. That's when the truth came out. Raven had obviously decided that we had become skilled enough to start earning our keep. She told us that whilst she was a business woman, it was a very specific kind of business…assassinations ta be exact. Raven took few, but exclusive and expensive jobs. We moved across the country tracking down high profile targets. And now Raven wanted to expand the business, making it a family enterprise."

Rouge's words dripped bitter sarcasm, but Remy could tell that beneath it she was still that teenage girl who felt betrayed.

"Kurt and ah were horrified. We escaped as soon as we could. At least she taught us a few things that worked in our favour. We headed to New York, trying to get as far away as possible, and that's where Xavier found us. Ah swear that man has some kinda distressed teenager tracking device, the amount of us he's helped!"

Rogue's tone suddenly became sad, "Victor stayed with Raven. He had his own issues; he was like a wild animal that had been caged for too long, and this seemed the ideal way to let loose. There isn't a day goes by though that ah don't regret leaving him with her though. He deserved better than that…ah should have tried to make him leave with us."

Rogue sighed sadly. However, her tone changed when she spoke. Remy could clearly hear the fear in her voice.

"Today was the first time ah've heard from Raven in twelve years. She wants something, ah know it."

o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N:** well there you go! I hope I didn't bore you with plot. There will be some more romy action soon, I promise.

As always – R&R. Thank you.


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